Our life in the foothills of Calaveras County, California. The pond is at the center of everything. In case we should forget, the bullfrogs yell it out all summer long. A noisy place, but home.

Pond!

Monday, November 5, 2012

Good Belgian Beer and Olives

The weekend was another busy one -- as usual, a mix of schoolwork and chores around the house. There is absolutely no way around the fact (at least for me) that for me to keep my class running as I think it should, that I take home work to do in the evenings and over the weekend. That's just the way it is. However, I'm really working to at least balance the school workload with the home workload. Not surprisingly, after a morning spent reading and critiquing students' Writer's Notebooks, mundane tasks such as sweeping the floors, and wiping down and rearranging a few kitchen cabinets take on pleasurable aspects. I like that.

Even cleaning out the chicken coop (we waited way too long to do this) was a satisfying job. Bruce carted out all of the soiled straw and then used the leaf blower to try to get some of the dust dislodged (I think that it all relodged on me where I stood outside). Then I washed down the outside with the hose, knocked down dangling cobwebs from the perches and then swept as much from the floor as I could. Then I shook out and spread armloads of fresh straw, filling each nestbox and then scattering a thick layer on the floor. As I stood back to view the result, I was filthy, wet and tired. And thoroughly content. When my favorite yellow hen promptly settled in a clean nestbox and immediately laid a lovely brown egg, my day was complete.

About Me

My husband and I live in a small house by a small pond that is just past the first and smallest foothill of the mighty Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Our nearest town has the rather large name of Copperopolis, but the town itself is also very small. During the school year I drive my small car down into the valley to teach 4th grade at – you guessed it – a smallish school. On both a grand and a personal scale, life is too short and too miraculous to be taken for granted. This chronicle of our life here at Frogpond Acres is one way for me to remain mindful and appreciative of the many not-so-small wonders and blessings that surround us.